The rescue operation to trace the missing eight personnel deep inside the partially collapsed Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel in Nagarkurnool gained momentum with South Central Railway (SCR) team bringing advanced cutters to clear the debris and the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) unit also joining the efforts on Thursday (February 27, 2025). The debris, including steel and iron, hindered the rescue work in the past few days.
A day after the joint team of Border Roads Organisation (BRO), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Indian Army personnel inspected the last point inside the collapsed tunnel to get first hand assessment of the situation, state-of-the-art machines were pressed into service this morning.
Latest updates on rescue work at Telangana SLBC tunnel Day 6 (February 27, 2025)
A team from the SCR’s Divisional Mechanical Engineering wing reached the mishap site. They brought with them ‘Ultra thermos cutter’, which is most suitable for cutting metals more than 8 mm. “The cutter is most suited for our rescue operation inside the tunnel. The SCR personnel have taken it inside,” a top official overseeing the entire operation told The Hindu today.
Given the huge debris comprising twisted steel and iron, the rescue teams have requisitioned one more such cutter machine, which the officials are hopeful of procuring it by this evening.
Initially, as suggested by the BRO experts, plasma cutters were planned to be taken inside but the idea was dropped. “The plasma cutters are too heavy and taking it inside is posing a few challenges,” the official said.
While the rescue operation has shifted to top gear, a team from the NGRI went inside the tunnel with a unit of Ground Probing Radar (GPR) of 200 MHZ, which is suitable up to 10 metres depth inside. “Another unit with GPR is on the top of the hill carrying out tests,” it was pointed out.
Dewatering was almost completed with multiple teams inside the tunnel bring out the accumulated silt in loco dumpers.
Already, 11 specialised teams from different organisations – including the executive company of the project – are on the rescue mission for the past six days. Efforts made by multiple rescue teams, which are inside searching the missing personnel, had drawn a blank. It was only last evening that a rescue team could reach the last point of the tunnel only to find huge debris of steel, iron, oil, slush completely covering the mishap site.
A team from BRO comprising Colonel Parikshit Mehra, a tunnel expert, former ADG BRO K. P. Purshothaman and former DG, BRO Lieutenant General Harpal Singh along with Indian Army, NDRF and executing agency officials after a visit to mishap site have given certain recommendations for expediting the rescue operations. “Following the recommendations, the teams are now working to trace the missing personnel and simultaneously remove silt,” the official said.
